The Congress has emerged as the single-largest party in Goa after votes polled in the Assembly election was counted on Saturday. Yesterday analysts had predicted that the Congress may not get to from the Goa government as the Nationalist Congress Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak and the Goa Forward Party seem inclined to support the BJP.
Yesterday’s result shows that BJP has got 13 seats out of 40, and they need at least 21 to form the government. And today evening it has been cleared that the prediction was true. MGP and Goa Forward Party bagged 3 seats each; NCP won one seat and others have got 2 seats. Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) declared that they will extend support if Defense minister Manohar Parrikar is brought back to Goa as Chief Minister. Another regional party Goa Forward Party (GFP) also has provided its support, with 3 seats, in writing at a meeting this evening. And the BJP has accepted their request. Now the Bharatiya Janata Party will stake claim to form the Govt of Goa. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will be the chief minister once again in the coastal state. The BJP has garnered support from those independent candidates and now has 22 seats. The final tally has ten seats under the belt of non-Congress and Non-BJP. The MGP has been a former ally of the BJP and earlier also, during Parrikar’s regime the two parties worked in harmony.
Parrikar will step down from the post of Defence Minister of India. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari flew to Panaji to hold consultations. Chief Minister Parsekar has lost the election. Anyway, he was considered a weak candidate than his predecessor Parrikar. That is the main reason for bringing back Mr. Parrikar.
BJP legislator Pramod Sawant, who got re-elected from Sankhalim constituency, said that the state government can deliver better under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar. Mr. Sawant also said that they have seen the kind of development that the state witnessed under Parsekar’s guidance and they don’t want the state to suffer for next 5 years.
Mr. Gadkari said that Manohar Parrikar has not resigned yet from his post of Defence Minister. In Delhi, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party will ask Mr. Parrikar to choose whether he would like to move back to Goa.
So it is obvious that forming the government depends heavily on the local regional parties, and in Manipur also they have proved that the key to forming the government is also dependent on regional parties.
But what National Congress is saying? Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said he was confident of the numbers. And they expected support from local parties. He added that his party was ready to sit in the opposition. “Is this a party of morals and ethics? Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been defeated & doing horse-trading”, he added.
Fingering at BJP he said, “Go ahead if you have the support of more than 21. We are ready to sit in Opposition”.
